When comparing Pandemic vs Pandemic Legacy, the Slant community recommends Pandemic for most people. In the question“What are the best board games?”Pandemic is ranked 4th while Pandemic Legacy is ranked 54th. The most important reason people chose Pandemic is:

When it was first released Pandemic's co-op gameplay was a pretty unique aspect to boardgames and made for a different and fun experience where either all players won or lost as a team. As the board gaming hobby has grown over the years fully co-operative games have become an entire genre and yet Pandemic remains one of the defining examples of the style. With a base game that is consistently difficult, even for veteran players, and an engaging and interesting theme to draw players in, this is a game where working together to achieve victory is almost an art form.

Pros

Pro

One of the first games to implement full co-op gameplay, Pandemic remains one of the defining examples of the genre

When it was first released Pandemic's co-op gameplay was a pretty unique aspect to boardgames and made for a different and fun experience where either all players won or lost as a team. As the board gaming hobby has grown over the years fully co-operative games have become an entire genre and yet Pandemic remains one of the defining examples of the style. With a base game that is consistently difficult, even for veteran players, and an engaging and interesting theme to draw players in, this is a game where working together to achieve victory is almost an art form.

Pro

Excellent design keeps each experience unique and gives this game a large amount of replayability

With multiple player roles to choose from and the unique way that areas are randomly infected, each playthrough is an entirely different experience. Pandemic also has multiple expansions adding more player roles and even a traitor mechanic which can turn the game from fully co-op to 1 vs many, adding an additional challenge for the good guys to overcome. All of this combines in a game that will continue to get played even years after being purchased.

Pro

Design and gameplay successfully pulls players in and makes them feel as though they are saving the world

One of Pandemic's greatest mechanisms is the way the Infection Deck is managed. Each turn players reveal a number of city cards from this deck equal to the current infection level (2-4), this determines where new infections will appear. Players also draw 2 cards each turn from the Player Deck, which has a variable number of Epidemic Cards mixed in based on the difficulty level. The brilliance of the infection deck is how it interacts with Epidemic cards; when one is drawn from the player deck the Infection Deck's discard pile is shuffled, and then placed on top of the current Infection Deck, making it more likely that cities that have previously had outbreaks will have them again. This creates a very real sense of urgency as the first draw after an Epidemic Card can often result in outbreaks and a rapidly accelerating spread of diseases. It is this mechanic that allows Pandemic to successfully pull off a very in depth experience that creates a large sense of self involvement in a made up world.

Pro

There is variety. The different editions/expansions stay true to the Pandemic experience yet offer something fresh each time.

For example, in Pandemic Iberia, your movement is much more limited therefore you have to invest in building railways and the diseases cannot be cured, only researched. They will continue to infect even after being researched.

Pro

A persistent campaign means that your descisions have consequences, both good and bad, in future games

Pandemic Legacy is the latest in the Legacy line of games where things that happen in one game can, and often do, have affects in later games. The characters you use can gain new abilities and or flaws, components can be added and/or destroyed and rules can be added, amended, or removed, all based on the things that you do from game to game. This helps players feel invested in the game and makes their decisions even more meaningful than they already were. This ongoing change also means that your experiences may very well be unique to your group and that other campaigns of the same game will go drastically different, with only main plot points in common.

Pro

Very high short-term replayability due to the persistent story in the game

With individual plays regularly ending in teasers and cliffhangers players will be eager to play the next round in order to move the story forward and find out what happens next.

Cons

Con

Can suffer from Alpha-gamer / quarterbacking issues

Due to the nature of co-op games like Pandemic, a strong willed or loud player can end up dictating everyone else's turns for them, especially in situations where there are clearly better decisions to be made. This can lead some people to feel like they aren't actually 'playing' so much as being told what to do.

Con

Difficult

Pandemic is a pretty difficult game, there will be a lot of losses compared to wins. Though when there is a win it does feel righteously earned.

Con

No long-term replayability

After the main campaign is finished (12-24 games) the game is mostly finished. Technically you can play the final mission over and over, but permanent changes made over the course of the playthrough, such as stickers added to the rules, board, and player sheets as well as components that are physically destroyed make the game less fun to replay after the main story concludes.

Con

Requires a commited group to play and experience the full extent of the game

Pandemic: Legacy games are meant to be experienced over 12-24 games with the same players so that everyone involved can share in the overarching story of the game. Unfortunately, many gamers may struggle to find 2-4 players that can regularly meet up to play the game, making it difficult to finish the main story.